Published 6:30 am, Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Speaking at a news conference, Garrett noted that 14 of the Cardinals' points came via interception returns. He also said that besides Andre Roberts' 74-yard touchdown catch Arizona "didn't do a whole lot" offensively.

"They didn't run the ball particularly well, they didn't throw it particularly well, we limited them to 10 first downs and 2 of 11 on third down conversions, and you can go on and on," he said.

It's all true, but how can you say a defense played "very well" when it allowed a third-string rookie quarterback in just his third start and running an offense ranked 27th in the NFL to convert a fourth and 15 with the game on the line like John Skelton did when he hit Larry Fitzgerald for a 26-yard gain with 49 seconds left?

Five plays later, Jay Feely kicked a 48-yard field goal to win the game.

"I'm not bringing up the statistics to make any argument, but it's hard to do some of the things we did defensively," Garrett said. "Unfortunately, when it came to crunch time, they were able to make plays they needed to make. It's an area we have to continue to work on."

Good defenses make stops at crunch time. Giving the defense a high grade because it played well most of the game is as silly as an editor praising a reporter for correctly spelling four out of five names in a story. If that one botched play causes you to lose, the defense did not play "very well."

Jerry Jones made building a stout defense his top priority after Dallas yielded a franchise record 405 points in 2004.

He drafted defensive players in the first round five times over the past five years, including linebacker DeMarcus Ware and end Marcus Spears in 2005. He hired a coach four years ago in Phillips considered to be an expert at coordinating the 3-4. He signed a pair of free agents two years ago in linebacker Keith Brooking and end Igor Olshanky who were familiar with Phillips and his system.

And what did it get Jones? A defense that's even worse than the 2004 unit. With one game left, Dallas has surrendered 423 points this season, a vexing fact for Jones.

"It was inconceivable to me we would have the defensive issues we have had this year," he said.

So how should Jones fix it?

He could start by dumping safeties Gerald Sensabaugh and Alan Ball. The best defenses have impact players at the back end that rule the middle of the field. Neither of these guys fit that mold.

Brooking also has to go. The NFL is a young man's game, and he'll be 36 next season.

Olshanky hasn't done nearly enough to warrant another season. The Cowboys would be better off moving Jay Ratliff to end and letting Josh Brent line up at nose tackle.

Jones should also seek a coordinator who can bring out the best in cornerback Mike Jenkins and linebacker Anthony Spencer, a pair who took giant steps backward this season. Dallas has increased its takeaways under interim coordinator Paul Pasqualoni.

But will Jones do any of this?

"We drafted toward that defense strongly, and I'm going to use the pluses we've got over there and the foundation we've got, the system we've got, to get us back up and running quickly," Jones said.

Pluses? Foundation? Sounds as if Garrett isn't the only one channeling his inner Wade Phillips.